Illicit brews: 12,000 arrested, 9,000 joints shutdown in nationwide crackdown

Police have arrested 12,443 people and shut down 9,269 non-compliant joints across the country since the start of a nationwide crackdown on illicit brews, drugs and psychotropic substances.

Data from Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki's office shows that 25,215 raids were carried out nationwide between 8 and 31 March, with 6,381 of them in the former Rift Valley province.

Central Province, which hosts Kirinyaga County where more than 20 people died after consuming illicit alcohol, had 4,484 raids, Eastern (5,844), Nyanza (2,673), Coast (2,113), Western (1,658), Nairobi (1,464) and North Eastern (602). 

The majority of non-compliant outlets closed were in Central Kenya, where 2,722 were closed, followed by 2,305 in the sprawling Rift Valley province, 1,504 in Eastern, 985 in Nairobi, 885 in Coast, 453 in Western and 413 in Nyanza. 

The crackdown began in early March after the government, through Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, issued 25 strict regulations to curb rampant alcohol abuse.

The government suspended all licences of second-generation alcohol producers and distillers pending a re-verification and ordered the closure of bars within 300 metres of schools and residential areas.

Civil servants, including those working for the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs), the Anti-Counterfeiting Authority (ACA), the Ministry of Health and the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada), were also banned from owning a bar, either directly or by proxy.

According to the data, 1,450,271 litres of illicit brew have been seized nationwide so far, of which 1,151,862 litres were kangara and 106,994 litres were changaa, while another 191,415 litres were a mixture of other brews. 

Kangara is used as an ingredient in the production of changaa and most of the seizures were made in the Nyanza region. 449,248 litres of the substance was seized and an additional 19,556 litres of changaa was also netted.

In the larger Rift Valley province, 386,193 litres of kangara were seized, while 215,123 litres were seized in Western province. 

Ethanol, which is suspected to have caused the deaths of more than 20 people in Kirinyaga, was also among the substances seized during the raids.

A total of 2,559 litres was seized during the raids, with 79 per cent or 2,041 litres of the illegal substance found in joints in the Rift Valley.

Counterfeit alcohol, which has been a major problem in the country, was also targeted in the crackdown, with the government ordering the suspension of manufacturing licences issued by the KRA and Kebs.

46,273 litres of counterfeit alcohol have been seized so far, with 3,188 litres seized in Central Kenya. Coast has seized 690 litres, 11,426 litres (Eastern), 1,251 litres (Nairobi), 13,606 litres (Nyanza), 15,837 litres (Rift Valley) and 270 litres in Western.

Fermented unga, which is sorghum flour used to brew liquor that is instead packaged and sold as animal feed, was also seized.

Nationally, 2,973 kilograms of the substance were seized. The unga was found in only three regions - Western (1,320 kilos), Rift Valley (543 kilos) and Nairobi (1,110 kilos).

The crackdown has not only targeted alcoholic outlets but also shisha outlets, with 150 closed so far. 56 were closed in various locations in Nairobi, where Nacada has stepped up operations in nightclubs.

Another 37 have been closed in the Rift Valley, 35 (Eastern), 12 (Central), 5 (Nyanza), 4 (Coast) and 1 (Western).

The sale of shisha is still prevalent in nightclubs across the country, despite being banned in 2017.

However, a court in Mombasa ruled in March that the regulations banning shisha had not been formalised, meaning that any criminal cases or charges based on unformalised regulations are invalid and cannot be used to prosecute shisha users.

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